This is a guest post submitted by G. Garcia and written by Ben Stillwater. Ben Stillwater is a freelance writer for AsbestosNews.com, an online resource on malignant mesothelioma and asbestos cancer.

There has been some research on the relationship between genetics and the development of malignant mesothelioma.  While there is no conclusive body of work, there is some compelling evidence that genetic defects may result in a higher risk for the development of malignant mesothelioma.  Research reported in Cancer Genetics and Cytogenetics in 2001 found evidence of chromosomal defects aligned through a family with a history of cancer that included at least one malignant mesothelioma patient.

Frightening Story of Malignant Mesothelioma

There is also an intriguing and frightening story of three villages in Turkey where fifty percent of the deaths are caused by malignant mesothelioma.  This is a relatively rare disease, diagnosed perhaps 3,000 times a year in the United States, a nation of 300 million people.  The ostensible cause is exposure and inhalation or ingestion of asbestos fibers.  In the villages located in the Cappadocian area of Turkey residents were uniformly exposed to a fibrous material called erionite, similar in structure to the six types of fiber categorized as asbestos.  Erionite occurs naturally in other areas of Turkey however and the occurrence of malignant mesothelioma is fractional compared to the villages of Tuzkoy, Karain, and Sarihidir. 

A cancer study conducted by a collaboration of physicians and scientists from Turkey and the United States looked closely at this epidemic for evidence of genetic predisposition to mesothelioma cancer and reported their findings in the May, 2006 edition of Cancer Research.   They found no evidence of a different, more malicious type of erionite fiber among the villages with populations disposed to the development of malignant mesothelioma than in other Cappadocian villages.  Further, they found that occurrences of the disease were more frequent in some families than others.  And finally, epidemiological research showed that members of families with frequent malignant mesothelioma occurrence who married into families without the history of malignant mesothelioma carried an increased risk of the disease developing for their children and grandchildren.  The evidence of genetic predisposition is overwhelming.

Gene Therapy for Malignant Mesothelioma

One of the developments in cytogenetics with regard to malignant mesothelioma and other carcinomas has been the identification of chromosomal damage with the onset of tumor development.  Genetic evidence of damage has served as a source of markers for malignant growths.  Today the use of gene therapy applying targeted tumor-suppressant genes at malignant cells is in its nascent stage but promising a hopeful path to improved and effective treatment.  Gene therapy has been one of the sidelights in mesothelioma news as thoracic oncologists have cast about for more effective ways to target mesothelioma cells.  Chemotherapy combinations employing cisplatin, Pemetrexed and Onconase have been tested and retested in various combinations but the difficulty of targeting two distinct types of malignant cells remains.

Malignant mesothelioma is most commonly caused by an epithelial cell, but a sarcomatoid cell is a less frequent possibility and the presence of both occurs in up to twenty percent of all cases.  Experimental gene therapy models have been developed for both.  The use of gene therapy to slow the reproduction of epithelial cells has shown some effectiveness, while a method of genetic vaccination for sarcomatoid cells has been less conclusive.  A summation of recent gene therapy treatment for malignant mesothelioma appeared in the German medical journal Onkologie in 2008, detailing the clinical studies to that point.  Oncologists are accustomed to mixing chemotherapy drugs as a treatment option, mixing chemotherapy and radiotherapy for malignant mesothelioma treatment, and now are looking at incorporating gene therapy into treatment protocols for this lethal disease.

Genetics and Malignant Mesothelioma is a post from: Cytogenetics and Cancer Research

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Today, we will talk about the benefits of consuming whey protein to minimize the chemotherapy side effects to the patients. Before we go further, we need to know a little bit about glutathione, which is an antioxidant that protects cells from toxic compounds.

Glutathione Protects Cells Against Toxic

As I mentioned, glutathione plays an important role to protect cells against toxic compounds. Glutathione balance is very important for cancer patients as glutathione actually gives the cancer cells advantage to escape from the effect of chemotherapy. Cancer research showed that the concentration of glutathione in tumour cell is one of the determinants of the cytotoxicity of many chemotherapeutic agents and radiation. There will be drug resistance to chemotherapy if there is an increase of glutathione concentration in cancer cells.

Whey Protein Reduces Glutathione Levels in Cancer Cells

According to cancer studies, the researchers found that the presence of whey protein helps to reduce glutathione levels in cancer cells but enhance the concentration of glutathione in normal cells. By knowing this, the whey proteins are used in combination with glutathione to help in decreasing the concentrations of glutathione in cancer cells so that the cancer cells more vulnerable to chemotherapy. At the same time, the whey proteins can help to maintain or even increase glutathione concentration in normal healthy cells. Moreover, glutathione level in cancer and normal cells is negatively inhibited by its own synthesis. As glutathione level in cancer cells is higher than normal cells, it is much easier to achieve negative-feedback inhibition for glutathione synthesis in cancer cells.

According to Life Extension Foundation Protocols, chemotherapy patients should at least consuming 30 to 60 grams of whey protein a day for 10 days before initiation of chemotherapy, during chemotherapy and 10 days after the chemotherapy session is ended. Yet, this is only a theoretical statement and might not suitable to everyone. Please do not hesitate to seek the advice from the doctor before consuming the whey protein.

In conclusion, the relationship between cancerous cells, glutathione and whey protein is believed to be an important factor of chemotherapy resistance in cancer cells. It is essential to know that whey protein selectively decreases glutathione level in cancer cells, consequently making them more susceptible to chemotherapy. It also maintains and increase glutathione in normal cells to reduce chemotherapy side effects.

Whey Protein to Minimize Chemotherapy Side Effects (Part 3) is a post from: Cytogenetics and Cancer Research

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As we all know, there is no way for us to escape from the chemotherapy side effects but just can minimize it. There are many supplements that the patients can consume during the time undergoing chemotherapy. In part 1, I have introduced the benefits of consuming vitamins E, C and N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC) while undergoing the chemotherapy to minimize chemotherapy side effects. Today, we will go further to explore about the benefits of consuming the coenzyme Q10 and selenium in minimizing the chemotherapy side effects.

Against Cardiomyopathies and Liver Damage

Usually, the coenzyme Q10 is used together with vitamin E to protect patients from the cardiomyopathies which are induced by chemotherapy drug, Adriamycin. There are many studies proved that coenzyme Q10 is really work to prevent the Adriamycin-induced cardiomyopathies. As coenzyme Q10 is nontoxic, it can be used at high dosages. Cancer research showed that it can help in preventing liver damage from the chemotherapy drugs like Mitomycin C and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU).

Unfortunately, there was a study indicated that coenzyme Q10 should not be consumed at the same time when the chemotherapy agent is used. It would be too sad as coenzyme Q10 is really effective in preventing Adriamycin-induced cardiomyopathy. For your information, Adriamycin is a type of chemotherapy drug sometimes used as part of a chemotherapy cocktail. Therefore, kindly seek for advice from doctor before you consume the coenzyme Q10 as supplement so that the undesirable case will not occur.

Minimize Toxicity of Chemotherapy Drugs

On the other hand, the combined used of selenium, vitamin A and vitamin E us effective in minimizing the toxicity of chemotherapay drugs, especially Adriamycin. The synergistic effect of vitamin E and selenium can work together to enhance the functionality and effectiveness of immune system. Without the combination used of these two supplements, we might not see the positive result of the functionality of immune system.

In conclusion, the coenzyme Q10 can only be used with caution as it might cause other side effects if taken at the same time with chemotherapy agents. Selenium is effective in enhancing the body immune system so that we can stay healthy with any infection of diseases. In the forthcoming post, I will write about the benefits of consuming whey protein to minimize the chemotherapy side effects. Stay tuned!

Minimize Chemotherapy Side Effects (Part 2) is a post from: Cytogenetics and Cancer Research

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As I have mentioned in Cancer Chemotherapy, there are lots of side effects of chemotherapy. Unfortunately, there is no way for us to escape from the chemotherapy side effects. Yet, what we can do is just to minimize the consequences of cancer chemotherapy.

Minimize Chemotherapy Side Effects Series

Therefore, I decide to write a series of the way to minimize chemotherapy side effects in this blog so that people can really benefit from it. In this blog post, I will describe to you the benefits of consuming vitamins E, C and N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC) while undergoing the chemotherapy.

Against Heart Muscle Toxicity

Basically, the high doses of chemotherapy may cause the heart muscle toxicity of the patient. Cancer Research showed that vitamins E, C and NAC play the role to protect high doses chemotherapy patients against heart muscle toxicity. According to Life Extension Foundation Protocols, there was a controlled study to diagnose the effects of vitamins E, C and NAC on cardiac function on a group of chemotherapy and radiation patients. One group was supplemented with these nutrients while another group no. The results showed that the group without the supplements suffered 46% more left ventricle malfunction than the group with supplements. In addition, there was no significant fall in overall ejection fraction for the supplemented group, but 29% of the group without supplement showed reduced ejection fraction.

Improve Appetite

The vitamin C may help in reducing the chemotherapy side effects. It can be used to improve appetite of the patients. Furthermore, it can help to reduce the dose of pain killers used in chemotherapy.

Against Cardiomyopathy

On the other hand, the vitamin E can protect the patients against cardiomyopathies which caused by chemotherapy. It can be used in combination with vitamin A and coenzyme Q10 to lessen the side effects of Adriamycin, which is a drug used in chemotherapy. It can help to increase the effectiveness of the chemotherapy drugs too. The dry powder succinate form of vitamin E is the best for the chemotherapy patients.

In conclusion, consuming these nutrients may help in reducing the chemotherapy side effects. Yet, this is only a theoretical fact. It might not practical to every particular case of cancer. Thus, please seek the advice of doctor before consuming any supplement. This is only the part 1 of the series. Remember to subscribe to this blog to get the free update. You may subscribe via email or RSS feed. Thanks for reading!

Minimize Chemotherapy Side Effects (Part 1) is a post from: Cytogenetics and Cancer Research

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Cancer Chemotherapy is an effective approach to control the development of cancer. Yet, not many medical institutions are applying these synergistic methods into clinical practice because of the side effects of cytotoxic chemotherapy drugs.

Overview of Cancer Chemotherapy

As we all know, the cells of our body will undergo the cell death through a pathway called apoptosis. The cancer cells start to develop if the cells cannot undergo the apoptosis. The cancer cells will keep dividing and clumping to form the tumour without any regulation system. By using the cancer chemotherapy, the anticancer drugs play the role to destroy the cancer cells to stop them from developing. The anticancer drugs stop the growth cycle of the cancer cells.

There are many cytotoxic drugs while utilizing cancer chemotherapy to treat cancer. The cytotoxic drugs used depending on the type of cancer being treated. Sometimes, the combination of cancer chemotherapy with surgery and radiation therapy may be used to deal with the cancer effectively.

Aims of Cancer Chemotherapy

The main aims of cancer chemotherapy are:

i. Minimize or shrink primary tumours

ii. Slow the tumour growth

iii. Kill cancer cells that metastasized to other parts of body

Cancer Chemotherapy Kills Normal Cells

We should remember that cancer chemotherapy kills both cancer and healthy cells in our body. This is the most crucial side effect of using cancer chemotherapy to treat cancer. Therefore, the researchers work hard to find a way to minimize the damage to normal cells at the same time to enhance the cytotoxic effect to cancer cells.

Integrated Approaches to Minimize Cancer Chemotherapy Side Effects

Nutrients and hormone therapies can be used to minimize the toxicity of cancer chemotherapy. As I mentioned above, the use of cancer chemotherapy will cause a lot of side effects such as severe heart muscle damage, gastrointestinal damage, anaemia, nausea, lethal suppression of immune function and so on. By strengthen the immune system of our body, the severity of complications associated with cancer chemotherapy can be minimized. These approaches should be undertaken several days before carrying out cancer chemotherapy and should be continued after the therapy has completed.

The Foundation’s chemotherapy protocol gives concise information about reducing side effects of cancer chemotherapy. The cancer chemotherapy patients are recommended to refer to the Cancer Treatment protocol after reading the Foundation’s chemotherapy protocol to gain more information about increasing the efficacy of chemotherapy.

In conclusion, cancer chemotherapy is still a great way to treat the cancer. Further studies need to be carried out to minimize the side effects of this therapy. I will explain more about the chemotherapy in my forthcoming articles. Frankly, it has been a long time for me to live without updating this Cytogenetics and Cancer Research blog. I have to apologize as I just came back from a retreat camp yesterday. Another good news for me is I have finished my undergraduate study for Genetics and Molecular Biology. Thanks for supporting me.

Cancer Chemotherapy is a post from: Cytogenetics and Cancer Research

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Tamoxifen plays an essential role as adjuvant drug in breast cancer treatment. Many people do not know about the mechanism how it functions to prevent the progression of breast cancer. I have found a lot of information about the Tamoxifen to share with all of you.
 

Tamoxifen is Effective to Treat Breast Cancer

As what we know, Tamoxifen works to occupy the estrogen receptor and blocks the estrogen. In fact, there is another mode of action to treat the breast cancer instead of just blocking the estrogen. It also works in estrogen-receptor negative breast cancer and progesterone-receptor positive breast cancer. Instead of just blocking the estrogen, it also blocks another type of signal known as Protein Kinase C (PKC). PKC is essential in regulation of activation of oncogenes. By blocking the PKC, the oncogenes will not be activated. Besides, PKC also regulates other signals that control the growth and transformation of cells.
 

Furthermore, Tamoxifen is able to interfere with the cell cycle too. This is another anti-cancer action of it. As we all know, cell cycle is a predetermined program that leading the cell goes through the division. Normally, the cell cycle will be stopped at the checkpoints to ensure everything is in normal condition. The checks will ensure that the abnormal cells do not replicate. However, the cancer cells have abnormal cell cycles where they lost those checkpoints. Therefore, the cancer cells can replicate without any barrier. Consequently, the traditional chemotherapy is to restore the checkpoint function in cancer cell to stop the cell cycle. Significantly, Tamoxifen is one of the good drugs to be used as chemotherapeutic agent as it can stop the cell cycle in cancer cells.
 
In the previous post about the hormonal therapy for breast cancer treatment, I have mentioned that Tamoxifen can only work at 2 years. After 2 years, the drug will start to enhance the developing of tamoxifen-dependent cancer. We called this problem as Tamoxifen Resistance. Many cancer researches show that Tamoxifen Resistance is because of the permanent damage caused by the drug. It might damage the tumour suppressor gene, p53. p53 is a main role to stop the cell cycle and prevent the cancer cells to replicate. According to cancer research, p53 regulates the cell cycle when there are abnormal cells and cause them to apoptosis. Tamoxifen may stop p53 from working.
 
In conclusion, Tamoxifen is an effective drug to regulate the development of breast cancer only with the appropriate used. We need to get the advices from the oncologist before consuming it.

Tamoxifen – Breast Cancer Treatment is a post from: Cytogenetics and Cancer Research

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Breast cancer is the fear of any woman in the world. It is not difficult to know that either a friend or a relative who has or had breast cancer. It has been the leading cause of death for women between the ages of 35 and 54. However, did every woman know the things before treatment of breast cancer? Thus, today’s post is all about the things to know before breast cancer treatment to help women understand about these.
 

As we all know, all types of cancer cell can spread to the whole body from the origin. Most of the time, when the cancer has been detected the chance that the disease has spread is high. Once a lump has been detected on the breast, there may already be an average of 45 billion cancer cells present, and some of them have been metastasized to other parts of the body. Thus, the early detection of breast cancer is important to prevent the cancer cells from spreading. I have been covered the Early Detection of Breast Cancer in my previous post.
 
Conventional medicine divides the stages of the breast cancer based on certain factors like tumour size, lymph node involvement, or distal spread. According to the stage of the cancer, the oncologist may suggest many options or even combinations from simple lumpectomy (breast-conserving surgery) to complete mastectomy (removal of one or both breast), radiation, and chemotherapy.
 
Yet, not all the therapies are suitable for a particular patient. Usually, the oncologist will design the most suitable treatment to the patient. The use of radiation and chemotherapy will certainly weaken the immune system of the cancer patient. This leaves the cancer patient more vulnerable to the development of metastatic lesions in many of our body organs. Though, there are many successful cases that using the radiation and chemotherapy to improve the survival of breast cancer patients with appropriately dose.
 
The oncologist will only give the best recommendations to the breast cancer patient according to the stages of the disease. The patient needs to make informed decisions whether which therapies to utilize. Therefore, the final decision is on the patient’s hand.
 
In conclusion, we need to know a little bit about the breast cancer so that we will not panic when facing on this disease especially for the women. This is only an introduction of breast cancer treatment. I will cover the details in my future post in Cytogenetics and Cancer Research blog.

Things to Know Before Breast Cancer Treatment is a post from: Cytogenetics and Cancer Research

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Anti-angiogenic therapy is a kind of cancer treatment that using drugs to stop tumor angiogenesis. This is a high potential approach to treat cancer. Today, I will share some of the basic knowledge about this kind of cancer treatment.
 
What is angiogenesis? Angiogenesis is a multi steps process involving the growth of new blood vessels in our body. This process depends on the regulation of many distinct activities in many cell types. This process plays an essential role in many physiological and pathological conditions.
 

What is tumor angiogenesis? Tumor angiogenesis is the growth of new capillary blood vessels that penetrate into tumor and supply the nutrients and oxygen as well as removing waste products. The tumors need angiogenesis to grow and evade in our body. The tumor cells can get the necessary oxygen and nutrient supplies by passive diffusion when the tumor angiogenesis occur. Therefore, the anti-angiogenic therapy is a good approach to treat the tumor progression by stopping the tumor angiogenesis.
 

Anti-angiogenic Therapy is Effective to Treat Cancer

Anti-angiogenic therapy of cancer is a highly effective way for destroying the tumor cells. The tumors cannot grow and survive without angiogenesis. If the anti-angiogenic agents are applied before a tumor develops, it can be considered as a vaccine in preventing the tumor development. Yet, it is not a cure for cancer but just represents the treatment. If we really want to cure the cancer, we need to target the agents and pathways that cause cancer.
 

Advantages of Anti-angiogenic Therapy

i. Unlike the chemotherapy, anti-angiogenic therapy contains little or no toxic to our body. It is because it does not require the therapeutic drug enter any tumor cells. The therapeutic agent needs not to cross the blood brain barrier.
 
ii. This treatment regulate the tumor growth regardless the growth fraction, tumor cell heterogeneity and tumor cell type.
 
iii. This treatment does not induce acquired drug resistance.
 
iv. As the normal vasculature of an adult is dormant, the specificity of angiogenic inhibitors can be applied. This allows the long-term and nontoxic treatment of tumors to the patients. This is the greatest advantage if compare to the nonspecific modalities of chemotherapy and radiation therapy to treat cancer.
 
v. Anti-angiogenic agents aim not only DNA synthesis and cell division, but also the biologic feature of tumor cells.
 
In conclusion, anti-angiongenic therapy has a great potential on treating the cancer and control the progression of tumor cells. Yet, there are some difficulties related to the clinical evaluation of the efficiency of these anti-angiogenic drugs. Sometimes, the therapy might works on the animal model but not in human. The cancer research on this therapy will be carried on to bring its potency into play.

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Cancer can cause terrible pain to the patient. It is overwhelming that if the cancer patient suffers the pain without relief. Many people are dying because of suffering the terrible cancer pain everyday in hospitals and clinics around the world. To solve such problem, there are many drugs and techniques can relieve the cancer pain. Today, I will introduce to you about 3 basic ways to relieve cancer pain.
 
 

3 Basic Ways to Relieve Cancer Pain

1. Dealing with the Origin of the Pain

Generally, people will choose to eliminate or modify the origin of the cancer pain. To do this, we can remove or shrink the cancer that caused the pain. Many cancer therapies are used to remove or shrink the cancer such as surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and hormonal therapy.

Yet, there are many disadvantages by using this way to relieve the cancer pain. First, most of those cancer therapies possess some risk. The patients receive such therapies to relieve the cancer pain may take the risk to certain side effects. In addition, not all the cancer patients are suitable to use the surgery to relieve the cancer pain. For instance, if the cancer has spread or if a patient’s overall condition is weak, the surgery is not suitable for him. Furthermore, only some types of cancer respond well to radiation and chemotherapy. Most of these treatments can only reduce the pain slowly. Sometimes, the therapies may cause new pain as a side effect.
 

2. Altering the Pain Message with Painkillers

Another common way that we can use to relieve the cancer pain is to alter the perception of pain. When the message reaches the spinal cord and brain, we can use the painkillers or analgesics to change the message to relieve the pain. For example, Morphine is used to alter the perception of pain in a selective and reversible way to blunt the pain. This is an effective way as it will always function normally with proper use.
 

3. Interrupting the Pain Signals

The third way to relieve the cancer pain is to use a nerve block to interrupt the pain signal between the source of pain and the central nervous system. This is the least used way to relieve the cancer pain. In cancer research, these strategy have more risks and irreversible to blunt the pain. Therefore, it is only suitable to small amount of cancer patients.
 
In conclusion, we can prevent the cancer pain by just applying some simple basic ways. Yet, before any of these approaches are applied, we should consult the medical expert so that the most appropriate treatment plan is established for optimum effect.
 
(Reference: The Complete Guide to Relieving Cancer Pain and Suffering by Richard B. P. & Susan S. L.)

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Since 2009 is getting close to the end, I am going to join the Group Writing Project organized by DailyBloggingTips.com to write this article about the top 10 new discoveries of cancer treatment in 2009.
 
I have gathered the cancer research news from Google and NCI. Below are some of the new findings of cancer treatment which I found really benefits to the world.
 

1. Brachytherapy – New Cancer Treatment without Surgery

On the 27^th of January 2009, U.T.’s Health Science Centre unveiled a new promising cancer treatment that revolutionized the way to treat cancerous tumors in patients’ lungs. This new finding is called Brachytherapy, a new cancer treatment without surgery.

After mild sedation, a catheter is inserted into patient’s throat and the lung near to the tumor. Radiation is released from a small seed at the end of the catheter and killed the tumor cells without killing the normal lung tissue. Therefore, the patient can still live normally after treatment. It only takes 3 to 4 minutes to undergo the Brachytherapy and the patient can leave the hospital a short time later without feeling sick.
 

2. Linac – Machine Boots Cancer Treatment

On 12^th of June 2009, a new machine called Linac that can speed up cancer treatment for cancer patients has been unveiled at Velindre Cancer Centre. This machine enables an extra 200 radiotherapy cancer treatments to be carried out every week. Linac generate high intensity of radiation beams to kill cancer cells effectively.
 

3. CD8+ Memory Stem Cells to Destroy Large Tumors

On 14^th of June 2009, the researchers at the National Cancer Institute found that a subset of immune cells, T lymphocytes called CD8+ memory stem cells, were capable of mediating strong anti-tumor immune response. These stem-like characteristics of CD8+ memory stem cells enable tiny numbers of T cells to stimulate the destruction of large melanoma tumors. The CD8+ memory stem cells have the enhanced ability to renew themselves, to proliferate, to differentiate and to kill tumor cells effectively.
 

4. α-CbT – Compound Inhibited Nicotine Receptors for Cancer Treatment

On 15^th of June 2009, the compound α-CbT was found to inhibit the expression of nicotine receptors and increased apoptosis. As we all know, changes in genes encoding nicotine receptors can drive the urge to smoke and increase susceptibility to lung cancer as well. Exposure to nicotine will boost the expression of nicotine receptors which inhibits the apoptosis. Therefore, this new cancer treatment that targeted nicotine receptors by using α-CbT can prevent the developing of lung cancer. The α-CbT did not affect the noncancerous cells.
 

5. microRNA – Help Identify and Cancer Treatment for Lung Cancer

On 7^th of October 2009, the scientists at National Cancer Institute (NCI) revealed that a small RNA molecule, known as microRNA, can help to identify liver cancer and respond well to cancer treatment with a biological agent called interferon. The researchers showed that miR-26 (microRNA) status in tumors may be useful indicator both to determine prognosis for patients with hematocelular carcinoma (HCC) and to inform the selection of patients who might benefit from treatment with interferon to prevent disease relapse.
 

6. Suicide Gene – Induce Apoptosis on Tumor cells

On 9^th of October 2009, A group of researchers from National Cancer Institute (NCI) have used the suicide genes that cause a cell to kill itself through apoptosis to treat cancer. This new technique used the surviving gene promoter to induce the expression of suicide gene in cancer cells with a minimum effect on normal cells. When the survivin promoter-driven mutant bax was injected in to tumors of mice, the gene induced 60% of cancer cells in tumor tissue to undergo apoptosis. This slowed tumor growth significantly.
 

7. Reduce Radiation Damage by Blocking the Expression of CD47

On 21^st of October 2009, the researchers at National Cancer Institute (NCI) once again showed their contribution to the cancer research by developing a method that protects healthy tissues from damaging effects of radiation cancer treatment. Previous cancer research showed that mice lacking CD47 are resistant to radiation damage. Therefore, the researchers injected an agent that suppressed the CD47 expression during the radiation. They proved that this can protect the normal cells from damage by radiation.
 

8. Nicotine Patch and Nicotine Lozenge Works Best for Smoking Cessation

On 2^nd of November 2009, the researchers from National Cancer Institute (NCI) showed that the combination of nicotine patch and nicotine lozenge provided the great benefit for smokers to quit smoking effectively.
 

9. PDF – Mushroom Extract that Shrink Tumors Effectively

On 1^st of December 2009, Dr. Brandon Louie and colleagues from Department of Urology at New York Medical College showed that a combination of interferon alpha (immunotherapy for bladder cancer) and PDF (mushroom extract) can reduce bladder cancer cell growth. However, it is too soon to claim that the PDF are a cure for cancer as the study provides no evidence that the mushrooms extract have health benefits in humans. Anyway, I still feel that this study has the further research value for cancer treatment in future.
 

10. Lunasin – Fighting Leukemia and Blocking Inflammation

On 2^nd of December 2009, Elvira de Mejia, a professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition from University of Illinois claimed that lunasin, a soy peptide may have important benefits that fighting leukemia and blocking the inflammation that accompanies such chronic health conditions as diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Lunasin is a soy peptide often discarded in the waste streams of soy-processing plants.
 
In conclusion, the cancer research on cancer treatment is still has a long way to go. The cancer research will continue to carry out to provide the greatest benefits to the world.
 

Do you know any new discovery of cancer treatment in 2009 that I do not mentioned above? Please leave your comment to provide us a great resource of information.

Top 10 Discoveries of Cancer Treatment in 2009 is a post from: Cytogenetics and Cancer Research

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